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Possible Naming Violation

I am an officer in a kinship in Riddermark. Recently, we had a character join us, whose name clearly references an illegal drug. My kin leader seems to think that it is not a big deal. I am reluctant to write a ticket for it as the person involved would know that it was me. I would appreciate any advice as to what anyone would do in this regard

If the kin, it's leader, or new members make you uncomfortable, switch kins to a more positive environment, then submit ticket.

I've reported kin members before, if they are violating Turbine's rules, causing a negative experience for other players, and I'd report them were they not in kin, makes no difference if they happen to be in my kin, it's up to Turbine to decide what ramifications (if any) apply, not us. Our only responsibility is to bring it to their attention. Do not be surprised if you report it and nothing apparently transpires.

Personally, I'd leave it alone unless the person in question was creating a bad atmosphere in the kin, causing trouble in the chats (i.e trolling people, harassing people), or otherwise misbehaving in game. However, with the kind of name you say he has, I'd still keep an eye on him.

I am an officer in a kinship in Riddermark. Recently, we had a character join us, whose name clearly references an illegal drug. My kin leader seems to think that it is not a big deal. I am reluctant to write a ticket for it as the person involved would know that it was me. I would appreciate any advice as to what anyone would do in this regard

I hardly tend to report naming violation most names aren't bad enough to make a fuss about. If you're extremely bothered by it then report it, if not i would give the guy a chance to show his personality first.
I i reported him i would actually tell him that i did it though, his reaction would be a good test of character since he quite clearly did a violation.

I am an officer in a kinship in Riddermark. Recently, we had a character join us, whose name clearly references an illegal drug. My kin leader seems to think that it is not a big deal. I am reluctant to write a ticket for it as the person involved would know that it was me. I would appreciate any advice as to what anyone would do in this regard

Such references are everywhere in our society today. It's in TV, movies, popular culture, heck it's even in the way most teenagers and twenty somethings talk. There is no way to escape it.
I suggest you take it with a grain of salt, realize the game has a 'T' rating, and realize that things are constantly changing in an online game. It has real people in it. You may see something tomorrow, which you did not see yesterday, that you find unacceptable.

Whilst I understand it's annoying to have such low class references in-game, there are far greater things which annoy me re: naming conventions. Like all those darn 'Game of Thrones' names that are EVERYWHERE now. How many different ways can we spell Danerys on any one given server? /facepalm

But aye, if you insist on informing on your neighbors, anonymous is probably the way to go. Otherwise you'd actually have to take responsibility for your actions, and people would be able to face their accusers.

But since you simply discard the idea of merely talking to the individual and perhaps having a constructive dialogue with them as to why they chose the name, or maybe even if they'd be willing to change it, going down the 'enforcement' route leaves you very few real options other than reporting it and praying that anyone cares. Besides. They'll likely know it was you anyway. People always do.

I am an officer in a kinship in Riddermark. Recently, we had a character join us, whose name clearly references an illegal drug. My kin leader seems to think that it is not a big deal. I am reluctant to write a ticket for it as the person involved would know that it was me. I would appreciate any advice as to what anyone would do in this regard

Turbine doesn't ban names that are generally not considered a bad word in the English language. One can say cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and many other substances in a conversation on television without those being bleeped out, so I don't think naming a toon for a drug.... is an offense for turbine. If it does bother you, you may want to switch kinships to a "family friendly" oriented kinship.

You should also ask yourself what your values are in this case.... for instance, does your kinship allow occasional swearing in kinship chat? And is that value more or less important to you then someone naming a toon for an illegal substance you don't like to see the name of.

On the other hand: If a kin leader does not listen to the concerns of officers it may be better to choose a different kinship. Officer opinions should be highly valued by a good kinleader. If an officer of my kinship was that concerned, and the new person was really quite a recent joiner, I may be more concerned with my officers feelings towards it then the need to recruit a new person. If it was an alt of a long time member, that may be different.

In any case, you can always choose a different kinship.

Moved from Riddermark to Arkenstone on 9/29/2015!
-----
Disclaimer: The definition of "Soon™" is based solely on SSG's interpretation of the word, and all similarities with dictionary definitions of the word "Soon™" are purely coincidental and should not be interpreted as a time frame that will come to pass within a reasonable amount of time.

Turbine doesn't ban names that are generally not considered a bad word in the English language. One can say cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and many other substances in a conversation on television without those being bleeped out, so I don't think naming a toon for a drug.... is an offense for turbine. If it does bother you, you may want to switch kinships to a "family friendly" oriented kinship.

This means that if your character or kinship name is in violation, the name will be changed without question. For characters that violate this rule, your character name will be changed and your account will be automatically placed on a three day suspension for a first offense. For kinships that are in violation, the kinship name will be changed and the account of the kinship leader will be placed on a three day suspension for a first offense. Additional offenses will consist of further account actions, including possible closure.

Originally Posted by maartena

You should also ask yourself what your values are in this case.... for instance, does your kinship allow occasional swearing in kinship chat? And is that value more or less important to you then someone naming a toon for an illegal substance you don't like to see the name of.

Swearing in any chat channel in the game is also an offence, even a private, user created channel or PM; but those channels are not monitored and would need a report for enforcement to happen, I doubt Kinship channels are monitored either.

If you believe the name to be in violation of the existing policy, then report it. It is up to Turbine and Turbine alone to make a decision whether a character is violating the rules or not, so even if you are the source of the report, you are not the one making the decision, just bringing it to the attention of the overlords. Nobody will know who filed the report, and in fact it's typical that nothing will be done about the violation unless numerous different players report it, even if it is very clearly against the rules, so you wouldn't be the sole reason for a character rename.

Do what *you* think is right. Personally I reported plenty of names back in the day on XBOX Live. Plenty of folks would argue "It's not hurting you" or "Legalize it" or whatever. Don't care. It's against the rules and I have the mechanism to report violations.

My experience with online gaming (for many years) shows that people that put "controversial" topics in their online names are just looking for attention...or a soapbox.

I am reluctant to write a ticket for it as the person involved would know that it was me. I would appreciate any advice as to what anyone would do in this regard

Turbine has made it known that a single report is not sufficient for them to act on a name (don't get me started on the folly of *that* policy), so unless you tell that player, he will not know (a) if you reported the name and (b) who else did.

If you think the name violates Turbine's rules to the point that you think a report is warranted, then report it and let Turbine sort it out. In the mean time, don't be at all surprised if Turbine does nothing at all.

do what you feel is right or if it violates the TOS. however I generally tend to be lenient on the names unless its something that is just outright wrong and vulger.

if the online gaming community was guaranteed to be 18 years old or older I would not have an issue with any name. I would probably die of laughter at some of the names.. Alas, since we know online games such as LOTRO is a family oriented game and that we all know their are families who play this wonderful game with their children. I do feel that we as a community do need to share the responsibility in keeping it a friendly environment and protecting or limiting certain things from the views of minors.

atm, i do not have kids but if i did i would hope that the folks who interact or have contact with them would do the right thing..

I am an officer in a kinship in Riddermark. Recently, we had a character join us, whose name clearly references an illegal drug. My kin leader seems to think that it is not a big deal. I am reluctant to write a ticket for it as the person involved would know that it was me. I would appreciate any advice as to what anyone would do in this regard

I almost feel ashamed to be wasting energy by replying in this thread.
If this name is really bothering you (OP) then I am sorry, but as I see it, the problem is with you.
Lighten up.
It's an avatar's name in a video game.
What is illegal today is legal tomorrow.
Once upon a time beer was an illegal drug.

I have a feeling that this response and advice will be falling on deaf ears. But I felt like I had to try.
There are many things in this life that we should take a stand on and press our disagreement with, but this? This is quite trivial.

........................... missed a putt. ...............At a Dead & Co. show on a Mexican beach..........The real Boraxxe... wearing his "Get off my lawn!" face and his "I smoked my lawn" face.
This has to end. I do not play LOTRO because I want to gamble. I play LOTRO because I like the game.
Buying keys is not playing the game.Golfing Hobby yes....Golfing Hobby yes

I almost feel ashamed to be wasting energy by replying in this thread.
If this name is really bothering you (OP) then I am sorry, but as I see it, the problem is with you.
Lighten up.
It's an avatar's name in a video game.
What is illegal today is legal tomorrow.
Once upon a time beer was an illegal drug.

I have a feeling that this response and advice will be falling on deaf ears. But I felt like I had to try.
There are many things in this life that we should take a stand on and press our disagreement with, but this? This is quite trivial.

I pretty much have to agree with this right here. I just don't see it as a big deal. The way I see it, there is just way too much "reporting to Big Brother".

Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, totally worn out & proclaiming "WOW, what a ride!"Continuing the never ending battle to keep Lobelia Sackville-Baggins in check

Yes, times may change, but with them, the rules will change, currently the rules are as quoted earlier in the thread.

Another consideration in favor of reporting is the 90-9-1 rule, so if it draws your attention enough to consider reporting it (and create a thread), likely nine others out of a hundred are bothered by it and might not act, so report on their behalf as well. If it's truly not bothering anyone, there won't be other reports and the name will remain, and you'll have your answer. :-)

Unless it's really obnoxious or vile, I just let these things slide. I've probably reported one name a year, if that. I do use their names to decide whether I want to have anything to do with them at all, though. Behind most obnoxious or immature names are obnoxious or immature players. (Most, not all - but the correlation is high enough that I find it useful).

I almost feel ashamed to be wasting energy by replying in this thread.
If this name is really bothering you (OP) then I am sorry, but as I see it, the problem is with you.
Lighten up.
It's an avatar's name in a video game.
What is illegal today is legal tomorrow.
Once upon a time beer was an illegal drug.

I have a feeling that this response and advice will be falling on deaf ears. But I felt like I had to try.
There are many things in this life that we should take a stand on and press our disagreement with, but this? This is quite trivial.

hmmm ... I see your point, but where do we draw a line? This is Turbine and WB's game, their rules. We all agree to play by their rules every time we log on. Just my few coppers' worth

[B][I][COLOR=yellow]Where am I going ... and why am I in this handbasket??[/COLOR][/I][/B]

I almost feel ashamed to be wasting energy by replying in this thread.
If this name is really bothering you (OP) then I am sorry, but as I see it, the problem is with you.
Lighten up.
It's an avatar's name in a video game.
What is illegal today is legal tomorrow.
Once upon a time beer was an illegal drug.

I have a feeling that this response and advice will be falling on deaf ears. But I felt like I had to try.
There are many things in this life that we should take a stand on and press our disagreement with, but this? This is quite trivial.

If I were to call my character BigMaleReproductiveOrgan, it would signify that A) I am such and B) I want other people to give me attention, negative, because of my name. If someone else has a problem with that then yes, it might be in the eye of the beholder. Or the actual problem might be me, because I deceided to name my character something that I *knew* would be offensive to a lot of folks.

Roses are red, Polar bears are white, if you meet one at night you'll get quite a fright.

If I were to call my character BigMaleReproductiveOrgan, it would signify that A) I am such and B) I want other people to give me attention, negative, because of my name. If someone else has a problem with that then yes, it might be in the eye of the beholder. Or the actual problem might be me, because I deceided to name my character something that I *knew* would be offensive to a lot of folks.

I don't think you could really say drugs offend people, to be honest.
If I named a character "Drunky McDrunk" and it offended someone, what difference does it really make if it's illegal or not?
Maybe Riddermark is strictly a role-playing server but I don't think so. Like someone else said before this is trivial, and in my opinion kind of petty.

Whilst I understand it's annoying to have such low class references in-game, there are far greater things which annoy me re: naming conventions. Like all those darn 'Game of Thrones' names that are EVERYWHERE now. How many different ways can we spell Danerys on any one given server? /facepalm

When I started playing, it was Wheel of Time characters that were everywhere. Even a big kinship on my server was named after a group in that.

Still, I think variations of Drizzt are probably still the most common.

You can just report. If they feel the need to name all their characters maryjane or whatever (not very offensive but tediously common) and they themselves claim it's a drug reference (not always the case, some people are just that clueless or sports some name they saw on a 'cool' person on a forum or similar), then they knew they made themselves a potential target. It is so very easy to avoid making oneself a target.

I had someone on forums here telling me something along the lines of 'But your name macro it says you like bots!' while of course it's just a regular actual word saying I live near the polar regions. Either my ignorance made that accidental bot reference or his ignorance for not knowing the word I used - either way just a misunderstanding (and whoa let me tell you that he instantly disliked everything and anything I wrote simply because he thought I promoted botting and cheating). The great miscommunication highway that is ze internetS can be a bit of a jungle.

People can use any name and do anything as long as noone gets offended. If what offends them are against the terms of use, tough to dodge a renaming. If what is against the terms of use is blatantly obvious, the gamer knew this. If they were entirely clueless, a rename is the only way for them to learn and the only way to enforce the terms of use. NOT ONCE have I heard of anyone policing the servers looking for dodgy names, it's a user-driven process and so it should remain: better to report and move on than having no rules at all.

People can use any name and do anything as long as noone gets offended. If what offends them are against the terms of use, tough to dodge a renaming. If what is against the terms of use is blatantly obvious, the gamer knew this. If they were entirely clueless, a rename is the only way for them to learn and the only way to enforce the terms of use. NOT ONCE have I heard of anyone policing the servers looking for dodgy names, it's a user-driven process and so it should remain: better to report and move on than having no rules at all.

As long as no one gets offended. Are we hearing ourselves here? What does "offended" mean? It is something you chose to be in your mind. What is "offensive" to some is not to others. If someone's name is not overtly referencing something against the naming rules, but is still "offending" someone, it's the offendee's problem, not theirs. And the world should not bow down and change to please a minority who choose to be offended by something. I always end up drifting into relevant real life issues somehow...